Celebrity
New Jersey Stars Shine Bright as Oscars 2026 Race Heats Up
From record-breaking nominations to homegrown talent in the spotlight, the Garden State’s imprint on Hollywood’s biggest night has never been more vibrant.
From record-breaking nominations to homegrown talent in the spotlight, the Garden State’s imprint on Hollywood’s biggest night has never been more vibrant.
As the countdown to the 98th Academy Awards accelerates toward March 15, 2026, the Oscars race is already ablaze with compelling stories, historic achievements, and deep ties to New Jersey’s rich entertainment legacy. This year’s nominees were revealed on January 22, 2026, and one film in particular has seized headlines, while multiple New Jersey natives and locally filmed productions have cemented the state’s presence on cinema’s grandest stage.
A Record-Breaking Year:
Sinners Dominates
The horror-drama Sinners, directed by Ryan Coogler, made Oscar history by earning 16 Academy Award nominations — the most for any film in Academy history, surpassing classics like Titanic and La La Land.
The nominations span all major categories, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Original Screenplay, firmly establishing Sinners as the film of the season. Its lead star, Michael B. Jordan, hailed as one of Hollywood’s most compelling actors, earned his first ever Best Actor nomination for his dual performance in the film, propelling him and his work into awards-season superstardom.
Industry buzz has only grown louder, with influential figures like Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige championing Sinners as a worthy Best Picture favorite, a rare and remarkable endorsement that underscores how widely the film has resonated within Hollywood.
New Jersey Connections at the Oscars
While Sinners garners global acclaim, New Jersey has its own constellation of Oscar hopefuls. According to local reporting, several nominees boast strong Garden State roots:
- Ethan Hawke, a West Windsor native, received a Best Actor nomination for his role in Blue Moon, a biographical drama that also nominated fellow New Jersey resident Robert Kaplow for Best Original Screenplay.
- Two films with deep New Jersey production ties, Marty Supreme and Song Sung Blue, cumulatively earned 10 Oscar nominations, showcasing the state as a filming location of choice in 2025.
- Marty Supreme, starring Timothée Chalamet, landed major nominations across categories including Best Picture and Best Screenplay.
- Song Sung Blue, shot around Monmouth County, NJ, received a Best Actress nod, spotlighting the real-life musical narrative rooted in Neil Diamond’s legacy.
This remarkable slate of nominations reflects not only individual talent but also New Jersey’s evolution as a film production hub, thanks to state incentives, diverse locations, and a thriving local crew community.
🌍 Beyond the Garden State: A Global Awards Atmosphere
While New Jersey’s presence is significant, the Oscars stage also features a captivating array of global cinema. Ten films made the cut for Best Picture, a competitive field that blends blockbuster spectacle with poignant storytelling. Alongside Sinners, contenders include One Battle After Another, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, Frankenstein, and more, each commanding critical acclaim and awards buzz.
In the acting categories, nominees range from beloved veterans like Leonardo DiCaprio and Emma Stone to breakout contenders such as Teyana Taylor and Rose Byrne, building a diverse mix of performances that have captivated audiences and critics alike.
The Oscars on the Horizon
As the awards season unfolds, with Critics’ Choice, Guild, and other precursor ceremonies already contributing to momentum, the anticipation for March 15, 2026 continues to build. Hosted once again by Conan O’Brien, this Oscars ceremony promises not only unforgettable moments but a celebration of cinematic achievements that reflect the industry’s creative evolution.
For fans in New Jersey and beyond, the 98th Academy Awards represent more than Hollywood’s biggest night. They are a reminder of how local stories, talent, and filmmaking energy are woven into the fabric of global culture, from Garden State roots to golden statuette dreams.
Pauly D figured out something most reality stars never do. He didn’t run from the show that made him. He took the party with him.
More than 15 years after MTV introduced the world to Paul “DJ Pauly D” DelVecchio and that unforgettable blowout, the Rhode Island native is still one of the most recognizable faces from Jersey Shore. What sets him apart is that the fame didn’t turn into a punchline or a cautionary tale. It turned into a real touring career that shows no signs of slowing down in 2026.
The Party Never Stopped
In a recent interview, Pauly described his live shows the only way that makes sense: one giant party. Coming from him, that’s not surprising. What’s impressive is that people are still lining up for it.
He’s currently working clubs and venues across the country—Las Vegas, Boise, Salt Lake City, and more—with a New York date locked in for October 9 at The Rooftop at Pier 17. He doesn’t just show up with a fixed playlist and hit play. He reads the room and adjusts in real time. That ability separates the guys who had a moment from the ones who can still hold a crowd years later.
Reality TV got him in the door. The rest has been pure entertainment.
From Catchphrase to Career
When Jersey Shore hit in 2009, few would have bet on which cast members would still be working nearly two decades later. Pauly had an advantage most of them didn’t: he was already a DJ. The show didn’t invent a career for him—it amplified the one he already had. The larger-than-life energy, the crowd sense, the willingness to lean into the chaos all translated cleanly from the house to the booth.
The joke became the brand. The brand became a business.
Today he still appears on Jersey Shore: Family Vacation while keeping a steady DJ schedule and releasing new music, including the 2026 single “Lost” with Capri Everitt. More tracks are on the way. That’s a long runway for something that could have easily faded into a very specific piece of late-2000s nostalgia.
Still Jersey, Even in Vegas
Yes, he was born in Rhode Island. The letters can stay in the drawer.
Jersey Shore permanently linked Pauly, Snooki, The Situation and the rest of them to a particular version of Shore culture—exaggerated, loud, and impossible to ignore. Whether people from New Jersey loved it or hated it, the rest of the world met that version through the cast. Pauly understood the assignment better than most. He never tried to distance himself from the character audiences connected with. He owned it, laughed with it, and kept moving without rewriting the past.
There’s a clean simplicity to that approach.
One Big Party
Pauly is 46. The hair still holds. The crowds still show up. The booth isn’t going anywhere.
His path offers a quiet lesson about sudden fame. Getting through the door is one thing. Staying relevant after the cameras leave requires giving people something they’re still willing to pay for. Pauly found his thing—or maybe it was always his thing.
A lot has changed since those early summers on the Shore. His basic deal with the audience hasn’t:
Show up. Turn the music up. Have a good time.
Sometimes the simplest model is the one that lasts.
Celebrity
TESD, Q, and the Great NJ Fame Wall Conspiracy: Did They Finally Notice The Jersey Review?
There are certain moments in New Jersey entertainment culture where reality begins to blur into pure Jersey mythology. A casual podcast conversation turns into a weeks-long debate. A throwaway joke becomes local folklore. And somehow, against all odds, everyone ends up arguing about Ernie O’Donnell again.
Which brings us to the latest episode of Tell ’Em Steve-Dave! and what may or may not be the beginning of the greatest cultural controversy in modern New Jersey history:
Did TESD secretly launch a campaign to get onto The Jersey Review Fame Wall?
We’re just asking questions here.
Because after Episode #672, “Now You’re Fabio,” listeners quickly noticed something unusual: The Jersey Review got mentioned inside the sacred TESD universe. Now, for most podcasts, that would just be a nice little shoutout.
But this is TESD. Nothing is ever normal.
Especially when Impractical Jokers star Brian Quinn is involved.
Longtime listeners already know that Q exists in a rare category of New Jersey-adjacent fame. He’s simultaneously:
- one of the most recognizable faces in American Comedy,
- one of the funniest podcasters “kind of running a show in Jersey territory,”
- and somehow still feels like a guy you’d randomly run into arguing about horror movies at a diner in Hazlet at 1:00 a.m with Jersey folks.
Which honestly makes him a consideration for our New Jersey Fame Wall. Normally, Fame Wall candidates must formally submit through info@thejerseyreview.com and pass the Jersey Review Smell Test. But for Q, we may need to convene an emergency committee.
And yet… nobody from TESD has formally requested induction yet. Suspicious.
Of course, once the conversation drifted into Jersey personalities and local legends, there was only one inevitable apparent destination: Ernie O’Donnell.
At this point, the “Ernie Debate” deserves protected historical status in New Jersey. TESD fans have spent plenty of time trying to determine whether Ernie is:
- a cult comedy genius,
- a chaos magnet,
- the same guy who takes care of droves of children down at the local movie theatre,
- a misunderstood icon,
- the lighthouse that keeps Kevin Smith (Clerks, Dogma, Jersey Girl) returning to Jersey every month,
- a suspiciously capable carpenter,
- or the single most Jersey human being ever created.
The answer somehow continues to be… only Ernie truly knows.
What makes TESD special is that it still feels local in the best possible way. It feels Jersey. Even with massive audiences and years of podcast success, the show still sounds like old friends from Jersey (and Q, lol) sitting around making each other LAUGH until the conversation completely derails. And goes a little too south for general audiences.
That authenticity is why people love it.
It also explains why the possibility of Q, Walt, or even Bry himself appearing on the NJ Fame Wall suddenly feels weirdly plausible.
And honestly? It could happen. Submissions come in regularly.
Because the Fame Wall was never just about traditional celebrities. It’s always been about those shining stars, the people who are worthy of celebration for just being part of New Jersey culture itself. The personalities who represent the strange, funny, loyal, sarcastic energy that makes this state feel different from everywhere else. Those New Jerseyians that pass our smell test, and most of the time, it’s one strong whiff, and it’s either, “yup, she’s Jersey,” or “nope, not on our watch.”
TESD is definitely worth a submission, but none have been received to date.
The truth is, New Jersey has always had two entertainment industries:
- the official one,
- and the weird local one everybody actually talks about.
We have famous people from both. Which one TESD belongs to is probably still being debated, and that’s exactly what makes it fun.
So yes, we noticed the mention.
Yes, the NJ Fame Wall doors remain open… but heavily guarded. ;P
And yes, Q may currently be under highly classified internal review for “advanced Jersey icon status by the sheer mention of close professional association with NJ Fame Wall Star, Ernie O’Donnell, but only time will tell.”
As for Ernie O’Donnell?
The debate continues everywhere else. Here, however, the wall has spoken. As it should.
Here he sits in New Jersey, watching movies with an old friend, still half-kid at heart, tucked behind the public wall of the theater that shaped them.
There are certain names in American culture that carry undeniable weight. Whoopi Goldberg is one of them. Her career spans decades, her accomplishments are historic, and her place in entertainment history is secure. That was never in question.
What is in question is something more specific: identity, origin, and what it really means to represent New Jersey.
— a member of the Board of Trustees
The NJ Fame Wall was created with a clear purpose, to recognize individuals whose story is rooted in this state. Not those who passed through it. Not those who later chose to live here. But those whose formative years, cultural identity, and rise are directly tied to New Jersey itself.
That distinction matters.
After a formal review under the Jersey Review Celebrity Smell Test (JRCST), a member of the Board of Trustees pointed out something simple but critical: Whoopi Goldberg does not meet the first requirement for inclusion. She was not born here. She was not raised here. Her early life, her development, and her breakthrough all took place in New York City.
That’s her story, and it deserves to be respected as it is.
Yes, she has been a longtime resident of West Orange. And New Jersey has always been a place that welcomes people who choose to build a life here. But residency is not the same as representation. A home address doesn’t redefine where someone comes from, and it doesn’t place them within the cultural foundation the Fame Wall is meant to preserve.
This isn’t about exclusion, it’s about clarity.
New Jersey’s identity, especially in its Shore towns and long-standing communities, is built on generations of families, shared traditions, and a very real cultural backbone. The Fame Wall reflects that. It’s meant to highlight people who were shaped by that environment—people who carry it with them in their work and their story.
Once that line starts to blur, even for someone as accomplished as Goldberg—the purpose of the platform starts to fade.
And that’s why the standards matter.
The JRCST isn’t just a guideline, it’s a guardrail. It keeps recognition grounded in something real, not just fame. Because once exceptions are made, especially for major names, it becomes harder to say no the next time. And eventually, the wall stops meaning what it was built to represent.
This decision wasn’t political. It wasn’t personal. It was about staying consistent.
Whoopi Goldberg remains one of the most accomplished entertainers of her generation. Nothing about that changes. But her story is not a New Jersey story in the way this platform is designed to honor.
And in the long run, protecting that truth matters more than expanding the list. Because this was never about removing someone.
It was about protecting what the Fame Wall stands for.
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Labor Day Weekend Isn’t Over: 5 Things to Do in Monmouth County Sunday and Monday
From the Jersey Shore to the DJ Booth: Pauly D Is Still Having One Big Party
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